Selling Sunset’s Chrishell Stause and Jason Oppenheim’s Most Honest Quotes About Their Relationship

Credit: Courtesy of Chrishell Stause/Instagram

Selling Sunset's Chrishell Stause and Jason Oppenheim’s Most Honest Quotes About Their Relationship

From coworkers to lovers — and back to colleagues! Chrishell Stause was Jason Oppenheim’s employee before their relationship grew into something more. Fans watched Stause and Oppenheim become friends in the early seasons of Netflix's Selling Sunset, which debuted in 2019. Two years later, the pair surprised everyone in July 2021 when they confirmed that they were dating. “Chrishell and I became close friends and it has developed into an amazing relationship,” Oppenheim told Us Weekly after Stause shared an Instagram photo of the couple packing on the PDA during a trip to Italy. “I care about her deeply and we’re very happy together.” Shortly after the duo made their relationship public, their coworker Mary Fitzgerald, who was with them on the European getaway, replied to the pic, "Nothing makes me more excited than to see two of my closest friends together and making each other so happy! 😍❤️.” Follow Selling Sunset star Amanza Smith wrote, “Love you both! So happy it’s out!! Ahhhh we can all just be normal now! Happy!!!! Makes me sooooo happy for you both!!" Jason's twin, Brett Oppenheim, also commented on Stause's post, noting, “Love you Chrishell. Thank you for making my brother happy.” One month later, the Emmy nominee explained why she and her beau initially made an effort not to discuss their relationship outside of their friend group. [jwplayer PR5b6VmX-zhNYySv2] “You don’t want to share with everybody and get all their opinions before you really know what it is,” Stause said on E! News’ Daily Pop in August 2021. Ahead of the season 4 premiere of Selling Sunset, the former soap opera actress elaborated on how her public outings with Jason pushed her to finally address their relationship status. "I didn't want people to think it was a mistake or they'd ‘caught us' doing something," she told Cosmopolitan UK in November 2021. "I wanted to be able to hold my boyfriend's hand at dinner." During the same interview, Fitzgerald recalled learning about her ex-boyfriend's romantic connection with her best friend, telling the outlet, "We were out together and I noticed the way he was looking at her was different, so when she went to the bathroom I confronted him. When she came back Jason said, ‘Sorry Chrishell, Mary knows.'" That same month, Jason admitted that he wasn't thinking about Stause romantically when their friendship began. "Even [after we got together], I don't think we were ... taking it very seriously then either. So, it was definitely an interesting process," he exclusively told Us, noting how supportive the rest of their friend group was after they made their relationship official. "I mean, as we knew they would be. We share such close mutual friends, which is also great in many ways as well. ‘Cause when we're hanging out with our friends, we're both hanging out with our friends." The Kentucky native, for her part, gushed about how easy it was to have conversations with Jason about their future. “I think that that’s why it works so well and our communication is very open and honest. There’s no conversation that we haven’t had at this point," she told Today in November 2021, adding that they already had a “very open” discussion about having children. “I don’t know what we’re gonna do, but you know, it’s just one of those things that I’m very open with where I’m at in life and I think that’s the key.” In December 2021, a source confirmed to Us that the pair had called it quits. Scroll down to see all of the candid quotes that Jason and the Dancing With the Stars alum have shared about their relationship: [podcast_block]

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Keeping It to Themselves

After the duo debuted their relationship, the Days of Our Lives alum admitted that they weren't looking to go public when it happened.

“We really were really private and secretive for as long as we could until we realized the walls were closing in," she said during an appearance on E! News’ Daily Pop in August 2021. "People were getting a little savvy to it. We made it to a point where we’re really happy to share it because we knew exactly what it was, so it’s all good.”

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Taking Their Time

The real estate broker got honest about the "added pressures" that come with dating in the spotlight.

"I think it's nice to kind of start a relationship in the way that normal relationships kind of grow and progress. And that's just between two people," Jason shared with Us in November 2021, noting that he followed his girlfriend's lead on addressing their romance publicly.

"I think that we were both more comfortable with that approach, and I liked that," he added. "I respected her decision making on that. I think that that's the right approach for anyone."

Credit: Courtesy of Chrishell Stause/Instagram

Friends First

Stause found their romance even more special because it originated from years of friendship. 

“I feel like there’s something about becoming best friends with someone first, way before anything was there. I just feel like I’ve never had that before,” Stause gushed during an interview with Extra in November 2021. “This [has] never happened where he’s my best friend and we just became so close with work. I do recommend it to anyone to do it backwards.”

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A New Chapter

“I'm the happiest I've ever been. But nobody's more surprised than both of us. I mean, we did not see this coming," the Under Construction author revealed to Today in November 2021, adding that spending time with Jason during the COVID-19 pandemic pushed their relationship into a new light.

“So you have your small group of people that you end up, you know, hanging out with and, you know, it just kind of happened where I think what started as something that was a little, you know, just going to be really light and ... nothing [serious], it just really took a turn,” she continued. “And it really kind of surprised both of us [with] what we kind of saw for the future and I think it was obviously a pleasant surprise.”

Credit: Courtesy of Chrishell Stause/Instagram

Staying True to Themselves

The Oppenheim Group founder explained how his dynamic with Stause only got better once they started dating.

"I think we're pretty open and pretty honest about our relationship and where we are and the things that we're talking about," he told Us in November 2021, hinting that their romance would play out on season 5 of Selling Sunset. "When we're together on camera and off camera, it's easy for us to just be open and honest, because I think there's a lot of trust there."

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Big Steps

Although Jason and Stause shared a connection before they started dating, he noted that there "was definitely a transition" that they went through.

"We had been so open about what we were looking for with each other because we had become close friends. She knew my dating life, and we would almost joke about our each other's dating lives and what we were looking for and things like that," he told Us. "I love her."

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Mixing Business With Pleasure

Stause told E! News in December 2021 that when she first joined the Oppenheim Group she came in with a “fake it till you make it” mentality. It wasn’t until she built up a real confidence in herself that she was able to go from coworkers to more with Oppenheim. Luckily, he’s always been her biggest cheerleader.

"With Jason, I just feel like the work/relationship dynamic, it's not as complicated as people would think because we were best friends before and we work together all the time,” she said. “It just kind of felt easy."

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How It Started

In her February 2022 memoir, Under Construction, Stause opened up about the duo's "curveball" romance, explaining that she had "developed a huge amount of respect" for her boss through the years.

"Jason was there for every breakup I had, and every bad day, and we became close through all those conversations. He became my best friend," she wrote, adding that "there was nothing romantic" between them for a long time and that "the thought of us being together didn't cross our minds."

One night, the duo shared a kiss — and everything changed. "What could have ended up with us laughing and saying, 'What were we thinking?' instead kicked off my first relationship where I've felt like I can be 100 percent myself," she recalled. "At this point, I don't know what the future holds for either of us, and by the time you read this I guess we'll find out. One thing I am sure of is that we will always have an enormous amount of love, respect and friendship between us."

Credit: Netflix

Friendly Exes

Despite their split, Stause confessed during a February 2022 appearance on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen that she only finds it "awkward" to work with her ex "when there's alcohol involved."

The All My Children alum added that she and Oppenheim were still on good terms — so good, in fact, that she was hoping to earn some "preferential treatment" from her boss. "I should at least get a better commission split," Stause said with a laugh. "I'm trying. I've made the argument [to Jason] and I think it's going to happen."

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Still Close

Jason gushed over Stause after helping plan her surprise birthday bash in July 2022. "Chrishell and I started off close friends before we were together, and we're back, we're in a great place," he told E! News at the time. "I think we're both really happy right now, and we get along really well. … I was honored to be able to be with her on her birthday and it was a really, really good night."